A quick peruse of tactics so far are a killer reminder of the "Thunder Run" that Great Satan's "Rock of the Marne" panzer detachments did on Baghdad - essentially blasting through the crunchy exterior into the soft creamy center - then fighting from the inside out.

"...The operation, codenamed "Moshtarak," or Together, was described as the biggest joint offensive of the Afghan war. Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, the commander of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, says 15K troops were involved, including some 7.5K troops fighting in Marjah and British forces to the north in the district of Nad Ali.

"The helicopter assault was preceded by illumination flares which were fired over the town about 2 a.m. In the pitch darkness of a moonless night, the roar of helicopters could be heard overhead, flying in assault troops from multiple locations.

"Operation Mushtarak in Helmand is part of Isaf’s new strategy for Afghanistan: degrade the Taliban’s resistance, secure south Afghanistan and then negotiate from a position of strength with the Taliban. Will it work? The answer depends on how success is measured. "Start with the ‘clear’ stage of the counter-insurgency doctrine.

"It seems unlikely that the Taliban will take on the might of Isaf head-on: they may prefer to melt away instead. But there are uncertainties: the Taliban may be tempted to inflict casualties that skittish European Isaf partners may deem ‘unacceptable’, thus undermining the new strategy at the first step.

"Second, will Isaf be able to ‘hold’ the area? The quantum of forces assigned to the latest operation suggests Isaf will have enough firepower; however, here too there is a caveat. Unlike the past, the troops are not expected to stay in fortified bases but to be deployed in small numbers in a bid to ‘protect the population’.

"Yet, the more dispersed the troops and the stricter their rules of engagement, the more likely the Afghan Taliban will be tempted to slide back in and inflict morale-sapping damage on Isaf soldiers with IEDs, sniper fire and suicide attacks. "Isaf appears to have taken a page out of Pakistan’s counter-insurgency playbook by evacuating the population, but to achieve ‘success’ the population will have to be moved back in sooner rather than later — at which point the Taliban may be able to challenge Isaf’s ‘hold’ over the area.

wHoA!

h0t!

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